Nightmare Alley | Dr. Elrich's Magic Bullet | Saturday's Children | The Reformer & The Redhead | Callaway Went Thataway | Betrayal From The East | The Story of Mankind
Nightmare Alley
{28 October 1947, USA. Director: Edmund Goulding, Writers: William Lindsay Gresham: novel. Jules Furthman: screenplay; Genre: Noir Thiller.}
STARRING
Tyrone Power ... Stanton Carlisle
Joan Blondell ... Zeena Krumbein, Psychic.
Coleen Gray ... Molly Carlisle, A.K.A. "Electra".
Helen Walker ... Lilith Ritter, rotten psychologist on the take.
Taylor Holmes ... Mr. Ezra Grindle
Mike Mazurki ... Bruno, the Strong Man.
Ian Keith ... Pete Krumbein, Zeena's husband and assistant.PLOT
"Throughout the ages, man has sought to look behind the veil that hides him from tomorrow. And through the ages, certain men have looked into the polished crystal... and seen. Is it some quality of the crystal itself, or does the gazer merely use it to turn his gaze inward? Who knows? But visions come. Slowly shifting their forms... visions come." - Pete Krumbein.
Stanton Carlisle is a young carnie fascinated by the denizens of the carnival midway, especially the mental acts, and the faux psychic Zeena in particular, who puts on quite a remarkable show. Through a series of clever manipulations, he plays the rubes well with the best of them, with a goal to learn a secret code shared between Zeena and her drunkard husband Pete. He exploits this weakness, handing him his very own bottle of what he thought was 'moonshine', but turns out to be the wood alcohol Zeena uses in her act. After his 'accidental' death, he takes his place and learns the code well, travelling from town to town fleecing the local yokel boobs.
Besides her psychic show, Zeena really does believe in Tarot* cards, and had previously prognosticated the demise in 'the hanged man' beside the 'Death' card {reversed}, signifying a negative change.
Stan's natural talents really shine forth when he so expertly cold reads the local marshal... the kid has it! He was initially fixing on arresting Zeena and the lovely Molly, A.K.A. 'Electra', who is a living electricity conductor, for indecent exposure. Stan explains that she needs to wear that skimpy outfit, otherwise any regular clothing would catch fire. He then begins to regail him with all manner of personal information and seeming 'psychic' impressions, all the while implanting covert suggestions, both amazing the Marshall and buying time for the crew to clear out the crowd and pack it up.
During the ensuing celebration, Zeena and Bruno become jealously aware of Molly's infatuation with Stan, roughing him up to inspire another plan. Turns out that Molly helped Zeena in teaching Stan 'the code'; so they decide to leave the carnival and go into the big time together, at first playing swanky night clubs, and eventually theatres to an audience of social elites. Ingeniously pegging each question flawlessly, he becomes a sensation as 'Stanton The Great', a darling of the rich.
Here is where he meets psychiatrist, the beautiful Lilith Ritter during a cold reading at a performance, in which he divulges that she was attempting to trip him up with a trick question. This impresses her enough that they should meet at her office, wherein he discovers some of her own methods of hypnosis; recordings of her wealthy patients' innermost thoughts during sessions could prove very valuable, veritably turning that berg on its ear! They eventually strike a deal, and go into the spook biz together.
Now with all this additional information, he ups the anti from 'psychic impression' to 'perceiving the dead', he gains the interest of a wealthy Lady who receives such comfort from his reassuring words about her dead daughter, that she vows monetary support, even mentioning bestowing him his own tabernacle!
Zeena and Bruno decide to visit their former friend, the now wildly successful mentalist, wherein during the visitation, Zeena reads the Tarot cards which again predict ruin by 'the hanged man', which actually represents stasis / 'life in suspension'. Annoyed by the reading, he kicks them out, although the card seems to assert itself...
Soon thereafter, Carlisle is faced with his greatest challenge - at the behest of a Mr. Grindle, if he can produce a vision of his long-lost love 'Dorie', his dead fiance', he will be paid a small fortune. Despite her protests, being her approximate age and appearence, he gets Molly in on the scam; but when Grindle pours his heart out in the garden, she breaks her etheric composure, effectively ruining his career marking him as a sham, so he goes on the lam without Molly to keep her out of danger. A classic bittersweet train station scene ensues.
On his way out of town in a cab, he realizes he has been had by rotten Ritter, who had replaced $100's with singles, and tries to convince him that he is crazy when confronted. Everybody's on the take. He flees amidst police sirens.
With the loss of his career and wife, he plunges into obscurity and alcohol abuse, keeping the company of dregs, until realizing he must return to the midway, from the bottom up once again. Attempting to gain the position of 'magician' as 'Shiek Abracadabra', which are a dime a dozen nowadays, he is promised a bottle a day and a place to sleep it off, if he can fill the role of... geek. The geek is some sort of wild, filthy hursuit humanoid deformity said to eat live chickens. At least, that description is for the rubes, and spells good business. Suffering the fate of previous geeks, he is reduced to an undignified level until recognized by none other than his dear Molly, who cares for him thereafter.
CONCLUSION
Carlisle went full circle, eventually finding himself in the same position, quoting the very same words uttered to him by lush Pete Krumbein, and as a matter of fact, here and there, one can actually hear the faint frantic mumblings of the geek while on his way to descent. Had those gypsy tarot cards actually predicted his downfall, or was it all just a self-fulfilling prophesy? Perhaps a bit of both...
Nightmare Alley strips away the pretentions of those populating the 'spiritualist' spook biz, from so-called 'psychics' to mediums, even including the jesus racket, revealing the true nature of selfish intent, profiting from the neuroses and emotional suffering of the gullible, sometimes believing their own spiel. Whether in the carnival or in an office, "it takes one to catch one..." While the plot outlines these predatory factors, it also manages to sustain an underlying sensation of a dark energy pervaiding. Through these deceptions, it seems there are certain machinations operating in the characters' lives which cannot be denied, but which are actually malleable.
Throughout the film, one will notice proliferous uses of trapezoidal angles, pentagrams, and uses of various light and shadow techniques somewhat reminiscient of shauerfilm productions, creating an eerie atmosphere both entertaining and stimulating.
5/5.
_________
* Word to the interested: "Tarot" derives from an Egyptian, not a french origin, it is pronounced 'tarot' like 'merit', not with the typical accent 'terroh'. The thing about such oracles, is that they are not inevitable predictions, but rather can serve as warnings so that the subject may pay attention to such matters and effectively modify situations by avoiding such obstacles.
Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940)
Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Ruth Gordon, Otto Kruger. Dir: William Dieterle.
Tugs at the heart-strings. A compassion-laden film about a true-life German Doctor seeking the cure to some of the world's worst ailments, including syphilis, polio and influenza.
When an epidemic hits the country, he goes about pulling out all the stops to find a so-called "magic bullet" as a veritable cure-all, and finally accomplishes his goal in pill 606, named after the number of tries to perfect this ideal drug. After some unfortunate losses in a few allergic reactions, despite his own warnings to the medical community that there still needed some tests to be done, he is vindicated and is eventually and rightfully awarded the Nobel Prize.
There are some really moving and inspiring moments in the film, with the contemplation of nobility, ingenuity, and the passionate pursuit of knowledge. It is all worth it in the end when you see the faces of those formerly ill children and grown-ups beaming with healthy life again.
Saturday's Children (1940)
Cast: John Garfield, Claude Rains, Anne Shirley. Dir: Vincent Sherman.
A charming and rather riveting tale about a newlywed couple who struggle through some financial hardships, yet their incessant love for eachother wins out in the end, and the money naturally follows such passion.
They meet on a bus of all places, where they are immediately attracted towards one another, and allow themselves various "coincidences" to meet up again on the street - he is an inventor of such quirky gadgets like the doorlock which engages like a safe, and an instant cigarette-rolling apparatus.
After a rough arguement, the two temporarily part ways, and through a supremely noble sacrifice by a relative, rejoin their inevitable love. He subsequently rejects a gig in The Phillipines for their union, and all finally balances out.
The Reformer And The Redhead (1950)
Cast: Dick Powell, June Allyson, Cecil Kellaway. Dir: Norman Panama, Melvin Frank.
A small-town Politician falls for a tom-boyish redhead {sporting a very Rosemary's Baby hairdo}, who just so happens to help run a zoo out in the countryside. He meets "Herman", a loveably affable lion whom he is initially terrified of, which sends him literally up a wall, until he eventually gets used to the whole likeable menagerie and falls in love. She whole-heartedly supports her man, gathering up all the local orphans to support the party's cause, which eventually takes him to international travels, at one point forgetting where he was at, which leads to an embarassing yet most amusing scene, with relief in the end.
Unfortunately their love becomes tainted when a despicable plan is revealed by a drunken co-worker, and his public standing is threatened with ill-repute. She is obviously hurt by this betryal, yet his honesty leads to reconciliation, while right around the same time, another lion escapes from the zoo - that 'ol man eater Caesar, who the poor man believes is actually mild-mannered Herman, which displays another one of the more entertaining scenes when he manages to get the lion into the car.
He gets his girl, she gets her man, and all is well in the humanimal kingdom.
Callaway Went Thataway (1951)
Cast: Dorothy McGuire, Fred MacMurray, Howard Keel. Dir: Melvin Frank, Norman Panama.
A spoof on the massive western trend of Hopalong Cassidy and the like.
When a western character comes into favor with the masses, a film company initiates a frantic search to find the original actor who portrayed that icon of wholesome American heroism, but when there are no leads, they decide on a good-hearted yokel who just so happens to resemble the cowboy of yore, and offer him a substantial salary if he will bring the character back to life for all the little kiddies who look up to him so admirably.
By and by, an investigator manages to locate the original Callaway, who had taken residence in Mexico with some spicy senoritas and his chronic alcohol consumption. Now a rather grizzled version of his former self, he refuses to leave his lifestyle of excess, so the investigator plans on literally kidnapping him after he passes out to catch a ship back to the states. He reluctantly agrees to assume his former role, much to the chagrin of the female chaperone accompanying the new cowboy, as she takes quite a fancy for him as he does with her, who after travelling across the country, become, shall we say, 'very well acquainted'. A fight eventually ensues between the cowboys, and the real one wins out over the drunk.
Amusing scenes include: in an effort to bring the drunken cowboy back to shape, he hides bottles of booze in various locations throughout this health ranch, including in a well bucket, and in a rock while jogging out on the trail.
The well-meaning impersonator manages to gain possession of all of the money the character had been generating up to that point and sets up a fund for clinically ill children, after feeling deeply guilty since a stern woman admonished him about their conditions. He eventually grows to embody the Callaway icon, and assumes the role whole-heartedly.
Betrayal From The East (1945)
Cast: Lee Tracy, Nancy Kelly, Richard Loo. Dir: William Berke.
A compelling WW2-era propaganda film dealing with Japanese and American espionage, where a carnival showman becomes mixed up in it all, as he decides to foil Jap plans to sabotage the Panama Canal. This takes him oversees where he was to be a patsy, but ends up a hero instead. After a long and nasty fight with a Japanese military official disguised as a shipman, he becomes a rather martyred character for the glory of the stars and stripes. A special message for audiences awaits at the end.
The Story of Mankind (1957)
Cast: Vincent Price, Ronald Coleman, Heddy Lamaar. Dir: Irwin Allen.
Stars Vincent Price as The Devil, and what an appropriate representation! Few can portray The Prince of Darkness so well as he, a master of horror, where Lucifer acts as prosecutor to the human race, pointing out all of its foibles and innately evil nature. The defense does a pretty good job in attempting to point out the positive points of man's existence, yet somehow seems to fall short. As accuser, The Devil is assuredly a motivating force to prod mankind towards bettering itself.
In My opinion, a marvelous combination for a veritable "Satanic Channel" would basically be TCM with some of our documentary material interspersed throughout. Herein is found a rememberance of past orthodoxies, a superior and elegant aesthetic, and is actually repleat with de-facto Satanic ethical principles. Those who are Satanists will be able to detect this immediately, innately.
It seems to Me that with the onset of the 60's, with hippie culture turning into ghetto culture, with human garbage of every shape and size and color and creed being programmed to emulate the lowest sub-human traits through the media and The Letharginator, it would be a desirable 'trend' for this broadcast to become more preferrable; with the exception of technological advances and a choice few other elements, what has transpired since The Noir Era has largely been a de-evolution of the culture. which needs to be reformed.
More Draconis Blackthorne reviews
STARRING
Carlisle went full circle, eventually finding himself in the same position, quoting the very same words uttered to him by lush Pete Krumbein, and as a matter of fact, here and there, one can actually hear the faint frantic mumblings of the geek while on his way to descent. Had those gypsy tarot cards actually predicted his downfall, or was it all just a self-fulfilling prophesy? Perhaps a bit of both...
Tugs at the heart-strings. A compassion-laden film about a true-life German Doctor seeking the cure to some of the world's worst ailments, including syphilis, polio and influenza.
A charming and rather riveting tale about a newlywed couple who struggle through some financial hardships, yet their incessant love for eachother wins out in the end, and the money naturally follows such passion.
A small-town Politician falls for a tom-boyish redhead {sporting a very Rosemary's Baby hairdo}, who just so happens to help run a zoo out in the countryside. He meets "Herman", a loveably affable lion whom he is initially terrified of, which sends him literally up a wall, until he eventually gets used to the whole likeable menagerie and falls in love. She whole-heartedly supports her man, gathering up all the local orphans to support the party's cause, which eventually takes him to international travels, at one point forgetting where he was at, which leads to an embarassing yet most amusing scene, with relief in the end.
A spoof on the massive western trend of Hopalong Cassidy and the like.
A compelling WW2-era propaganda film dealing with Japanese and American espionage, where a carnival showman becomes mixed up in it all, as he decides to foil Jap plans to sabotage the Panama Canal. This takes him oversees where he was to be a patsy, but ends up a hero instead. After a long and nasty fight with a Japanese military official disguised as a shipman, he becomes a rather martyred character for the glory of the stars and stripes. A special message for audiences awaits at the end.
Stars Vincent Price as The Devil, and what an appropriate representation! Few can portray The Prince of Darkness so well as he, a master of horror, where Lucifer acts as prosecutor to the human race, pointing out all of its foibles and innately evil nature. The defense does a pretty good job in attempting to point out the positive points of man's existence, yet somehow seems to fall short. As accuser, The Devil is assuredly a motivating force to prod mankind towards bettering itself.
